Friday, October 19, 2007

A little Prick shows the way

Our political campaign, here in Port Macquarie, has made a bit of a splash at the start of a long six week election. The regional news led with a story, ‘a candidate strips to his underwear to tell his story’.

It was a good 60 second piece with my brother Robin (pictured below) in his long johns, the incumbent, Mark Vaile and the Labor candidate. Feedback we are getting suggest that the other pair, in suits at shopping centres, were not seen or heard by many viewers. The underwear stole the show.

That is the sort of campaign we intend running. Rather than compete with the bland presentation we need to do something to stand out. I don’t really see most advertising, but a couple have caught my attention lately and underline the power of the different approach.

A little Prick campaign (see pic) is promoting a prostate cancer detection program currently underway here. Amid all the advertising noise this ad stands out for everyone I’ve spoken to. It even has me thinking, as someone who hates needles but would prefer it to the alternative.

The second; Controversial "Little Pinkie" anti-speeding ads could be the most successful road safety campaign NSW has ever had. The TV ads show women shaking their little finger - a gesture used to symbolise a small penis - as speeding male motorists race past.

I think the underwear is as close as we will get to those efforts, but there should be some interesting events ahead.

4 comments:

D.K. Raed said...

I wish I could vote for your brother. He has the 'nads & he's not afraid to show 'em!

Cartledge said...

d.k. I'll be voting for him, but I'm not eating potatoes until the current batch is gone. he won't tell me which one he used.

D.K. Raed said...

LOL, wise decision (re:potatoes)! I'd also give the cucumbers and zucchini a rest for the duration. just sayin' ...

Anonymous said...

Your brother got a lot of mileage out of those long johns. Think of how much more publicity he'd get if he goes the Full Monty (but if he does, please don't post the photo).